[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 185 (Thursday, December 10, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2944]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IN MEMORY OF LT. COL. GEORGE WITHERS STIER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. IKE SKELTON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 10, 2009

  Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, it is with sadness that I inform the 
House of the death of my dear friend Lieutenant Colonel George Withers 
Stier of Lexington, Missouri.
  Stier was born in December of 1919 to Earle Taggart Stier and Grace 
King Stier. After graduating from Wentworth Military Academy with ROTC 
training, he volunteered for the Army Reserves and applied for Active 
Duty in 1941.
  During World War II, Stier showed his unyielding courage and love of 
country while flying the B-17 Flying Fortress. During the last of his 
16 bombing missions over Germany, he and his crew were shot down and 
became prisoners of war at Stalag Luft III. Surviving a 50-mile forced 
march, Stier and his fellow airmen spent over a year as prisoners of 
war. On April 20, 1945, he was liberated by General George Patton and 
his 3rd Army's 14th Tank Battalion.
  In 1948, Stier married his lovely wife Kathleen Miller Trumbull. The 
two returned to his hometown of Lexington, Missouri, where they 
operated Stier's Clothing Store, a family operation since 1906. A 
dedicated public servant, he served on the City Council and was 
president of the local Chamber of Commerce. He maintained his 
connection to Wentworth Military Academy by teaching business courses 
to our future servicemen and women.
  Preceded in death by his wife Kathleen who sadly passed away in 2004, 
he is survived by his children, Sheila and George.
  Madam Speaker, Lt. Col. George Stier was a courageous airman, a 
loving husband and father, and a dear friend. I trust that my fellow 
Members of the House will join me in extending their heartfelt 
condolences to his two children, family, and friends.

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